A 3/8" chain, 20" bar on Stihl 260 Pro?

[jimwnola]

Have a camp with all sizes trees and branches down from Katrina. I find larger than the 260 to be kind of heavy for me, since I will be reaching up for branches along with large trees on ground. The dealer suggested the 361 and let me hold it with 25" bar, and that was kind of heavy. Anyway, on the 260 pro, the dealer is offering to switch out the .325 chain with a 3/8 inch chain, and sell it with 20" bar. Seems to imply that might be an improvement. I realize from reading comments on website that maybe 2 chainsaws might be needed given the very large river birch (36" diameter) sprawled across the yard, but I also have many, many maples and sycamores, and the smaller branches of the river birch to deal with. (May have to pay someone to bulldoze river birch regardless.) Anyway I already owned a 16" poulan pro, which isn't cutting it for this level of work.



The local husky dealer sells the 350 with an 18 inch bar, but strongly recommends against the 20" on it from his personal experience. (The 353 isn't in stock here. Again, I do have concern about using heavier chainsaws all day, and that 10.6 pound limit seems to feel good.) The Stihl dealer seems to a think the 20 inch on the 260 pro is fine, and even recommends switching out to the 3/8 inch chain. Both local delaers seem fine to work with


Thoughts on 3/8 inch chain and 20 inch bar on Stihl 260 pro?
Thoughts on advantage of "pro" model 260 over husky 350? Thoughts on 20 vs 18 inch bar on both models? General feedback would be helpful, 1st post here.

 

[West Texas]

I have both a 260 Pro and two 361's. The 260 Pro can run a 20" bar and chain; but, it will cut faster with a .325 than a 3/8 as that has been timed many times. I personally am happy with an 18" bar on my 260 Pro and it will take on a 30" in tree, unless you have a whole bunch of them, then I'd opt or the 361 and a 20" bar, do not get conned into putting on the 25" bar, just makes it heavier and the chain runs slower. On my two 361's I have a 16" .325 on one for limbing and a 20" 3/8 on the other, its a semi skip for downing bigger trees.

Once you get used to the 361 you will find yourself using the 260 Pro less and less; mine is now just a back up saw; whereas it was a primary saw for a few years before I got the 361's.

 

[Lakeside53]

I'm with West... loved my 026, and still do, but... just didn't use it after I got the 361.. Sold a few weeks back...

If you use a 20 inch bar on the 026, and 3/8 chain, use full skip. Very common out here in softwood land.

 

[046]

20in bar 3/8 chain is what I run on my 046.

026 feels better with an 18in 3.25 chain

064 wears an 24in bar 3/8 chain.

 

[computeruser]

20in bar 3/8 chain is what I run on my 046.

026 feels better with an 18in 3.25 chain

064 wears an 24in bar 3/8 chain.

Pretty much the same here:

I run 20in or 28" 3/8" on my 7900 and I run 16in .325 on my 026Pro. I can't imagine trying to run 20in 3/8" on the 026.

 

[retoocs555]

I'm always amazed by how many people wear 20" bars on their 260's.

I wouldn't do it but that's just me, I like to keep my bars a little short.

Definitely think about buying a big saw and a little saw. You wouldn't regret it:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[1CallLandscape]

I run 20" bar's on my 026's with .325 full chisel chain. the .325 definately cuts better on my saws, as well as weighing less than a 3/8 bar & chain combo. with running a larger bar you should change your stock 7 tooth drive sprocket to an 8 toothe to pick up some extra cutting rpms.
-mike

 

[16gauge]

I run 20" bar's on my 026's with .325 full chisel chain. the .325 definately cuts better on my saws, as well as weighing less than a 3/8 bar & chain combo. with running a larger bar you should change your stock 7 tooth drive sprocket to an 8 toothe to pick up some extra cutting rpms.
-mike

Using the 8 tooth speeds things up OUT OF THE CUT!! Am I missing something here? The 7 tooth sproket is MUCH better cutting for power and speed in my limited experience. I agree with the skip tooth theory for 20 inch, 3/8 pitch on the 026/260. Have an older 026 non-pro with a 20 inch, .325, .063 guage setup that does just fine for me. The weight is light and power is more that adequate for my needs. My MS 260 Pro wears a 16 inch 325, 063 and does not seem to cut any better (faster) but it is better balanced for small stuff and trimming. I don't like bending over to cut any more that the next guy but I don't cut more than an hour or two at a whack. The guys doing commercial work have much different needs than I. For them a 440/460 with 25 to 32 inch setups is probably minimum. He!!, they even climb with 361s and 440s. Each has his/her own needs. That is why we have so many great choices.

 

[Lakeside53]

20inch 3/8 (skip preferably for bigger wood) with 7 tooth... 8 tooth will bog the saw - it's just like trying to get up a hill in top gear.

 

[Marco]

An 8 pin rim won't be the hot setup on a 20" .325 bar on a 260/026, unless you are just knocking small limbs off of something. Save the 16" Poulan for the lighter jobs if you can tolerate it and look to go a size or 2 bigger than the 260 for the bigger stuff. Would depend on how many of these larger trees you have and how fine you need to break it down so you can get it out of your way, if you need to block these honkers into firewood length to move them you're going to want something bigger .

 

[jimwnola]

Thanks for input. The dealer didn't address skip, so i would have to ask what he had in mind. Since many here suggest that the .325 would cut faster on the 260 pro, what would be the possible theoretical advantage with going with the 3/8 inch on the 260 pro?

I spoke with 3 different guys at the dealership. I tried to explain my range of use. I also explained I already owned a 16" poulan pro. The 1st guy suggested going with a 20 inch over the 18 inch due to some of larger trees and that I already had 16 inch. He initially steered me to the 290. Again, I saw weight issue and started eyeing the 260. I went back for more questions, and that is when next guy showed me the 361. However, he was out of stock on the 361, and he showed me a model in for repair with the 25" bar. He wasn't pushing the 25" bar, that just happened to be what he had on the repair model. However, that was how I tried and it, and found it heavy.
So, he then started tellingn me that, if I wanted, they could switch out the 3/8 for the .325 on the 260. At that point the 3rd guy said that all the tree people were buying the 260 with the 3/8, and appeared to strongly recommend that.

Money is a factor too, of course. I barely started to justify the cost of the 260 when the 361 was then mentioned.

 

[SawTroll]

... The dealer suggested the 361 and let me hold it with 25" bar, and that was kind of heavy. ....

I think your dealer is right - what you really need is a 361.

Try to pick up A 361 with a 20" bar on it - I think it will feel quite different compared to with a 25".

In anything but very soft and/or small wood, the 260 with a 20" bar will be a compromise at best. If you have to do it, try either .325x7 with narrow kerf chain, or 3/8x7 with full skip. The 3/8x7 sprocket is about as large as the .325x8, which robs about the same amount of torque, compared to .325x7.

 

[sawn_penn]

Since many here suggest that the .325 would cut faster on the 260 pro, what would be the possible theoretical advantage with going with the 3/8 inch on the 260 pro?

A common chain across many saws? Easier availability of chain?

 

[1CallLandscape]

20inch 3/8 (skip preferably for bigger wood) with 7 tooth... 8 tooth will bog the saw - it's just like trying to get up a hill in top gear.

I've run the 7 tooth and it has some good torque but the 8 tooth has more cutting rps for the 20" bar. Ive NEVER had a problem with it "bogging" my saw out in big wood, yes occasionally you have to nurse it in the cut but if you know how to run your saw and know what the signs for bogging are you can really cut alot better than a 7 tooth. I ll try to post a video showing my argument.
-mike

 

[Lakeside53]

I've run the 7 tooth and it has some good torque but the 8 tooth has more cutting rps for the 20" bar. Ive NEVER had a problem with it "bogging" my saw out in big wood, yes occasionally you have to nurse it in the cut but if you know how to run your saw and know what the signs for bogging are you can really cut alot better than a 7 tooth. I ll try to post a video showing my argument.
-mike

What chain are you running? Might do ok.. on an non-aggressive chain, but...

 

[1CallLandscape]

im running a .325 full chisel

-mike

 

[jimwnola]

Used all your comments for alot of questions for dealer. I tried the feel of a heavier chainsaw again, and really didn't want one. Although the trunk of the river birch will be problematic, most of the other stuff is more in the 15" diameter range at worse. I have alot of trapped trees, stuck on each other and pinched, including one on side of house and roof. So, I foresee alot of reaching and probably a ladder to get on roof and side of camp for the 1 tree, which also factored into light wieght and 20 inch bar. Ultimately, the dealer said, if it were him, he would go with the 3/8", and it is a skip chain. I think part of that gets into other aspects of the chain. I believe the .325 chain it would have come with was the low kickback type, and the skip 3/8" isn't.

So, I got the 260 pro with 3/8' full skip and 20 inch bar, 7 tooth, and used it today some, and it did fine on a bunch of 12" or downed tree/branches blocking my gate. I didn't do too much else because, after that, I spent rest of day shoveling sand to open gate. So far, so good. Of course, Since I didn't get the .325 on it, I'll never know what that would have been like to compare.

 

[SawTroll]

The downside of the skip chain is that it cuts slower than regular chain when not really needed, but most things in life are "give and take" to some degree.

Anyway, I suggest thet you get a 15 or 16" setup with regular RS chain for normal use, and reserve the 20" skip setup for the occations when it is really needed.
Your saw will also handle better with the shorter setup.